Our last two days on Mull

So dawned our last day of Mull, and a great holiday it has been. Peaceful, interesting and lots to see.

This fern just appealed to me as it sprouted from the stone wall - Polypodium vulgare, the common polypody. Seen at a stop on our way to today's adventure.

Another abandoned cottage as we drove toward Loch na Keal, intending to explore another area we had not seen much of to date.

Northern Eggar caterpillar or asiocampa quercus, as its Latin name.

Loch na Keal - We drove along the southern edge of the loch toward Loch Ba. This was another unspoilt and beautiful drive. We watched sea eagles over the loch and just looked at the peaceful scenery, with all the worlds problems a million miles away.

We came across this pile of stones, obviously left by some earlier passer by.

Loch Ba

More views of Loch Ba

Our interest in this Mausoleum is the fact that, while traveling in Australia, Macquarie was a town that we passed by and it resonated when we came across this Mausoleum so unexpectedly in Mull!

So for a snippet of history as to what the connection was:

Lachlan MacQuarie was born on the Isle of Ulva, just off the northwest coast of Mull, in 1761. His father was a cousin of the last chief of Clan MacQuarrie. He joined the military in 1775, at the age of just 14, and rose to become a Major General, but retired to travel the world after 30 years of service. When his first wife died shortly after their marriage, MacQuarie was despondent and returned home to Mull. There he met and married his second wife, Elizabeth Campbell, in 1807. In 1809 he was offered the post of Governor of New South Wales and moved to Australia.

During his tenure in office (1810-1821) MacQuarie travelled widely in Australia and helped improve the political stability of the newly developing region. He resigned his post in 1821 due to poor health, and moved back to Mull, where he died in 1824. 

So influential was MacQuarie in the establishment of a new and - for the time - relatively independent nation, that he became known as 'The Father of Australia' after his death in 1824.

After his death the mausoleum was built in the grounds of the Gruline estate, which he owned. The mausoleum is a very simple structure built of sandstone, a rectangle with a slate roof and gables at each end. There are three small mock buttresses on each long wall. Both gable ends have an inset niche, occupied entirely by a large carved monument in marble. Inside are buried Lachlan and Elizabeth MacQuarrie, and their 2 children; son Lachlan and daughter Jane, who died in infancy.

And so, as we wait to leave Mull, we watch as our ferry approaches and contemplate a fabulous holiday. I would like to return, if the weather were to be a kind as it was this time!

Our parting view of Castle Duart on our way back to the mainland. Unlike the day we arrived, this was a clear mist free one.

Home

Australia 2007 - The start

We started our Australia adventure on 27th September, having won an airline ticket to Sydney on Yahoo! The idea for this trip is to hire a van in Sydney and travel along the NSW coast, then to move inland to New England and travel down to the Blue Mountains where we would meet the family.

Hayley drove us to the airport and we were on our way. Didn't get a window seat but we were right at the back with space around us. The journey was good and we did manage to sleep for some of it. We went through one or two rocky bits of turbulence but it all added to the journey. We were nearly late rejoining the flight at Bangkok as we were on the ground level and needed to be on the next level. We covered that distance pretty quickly! All of our baggage had to be re-scanned before we could come out of Sydney airport. They picked up on our tripods and walking stick - whoops!

It is now Saturday and we are wasting time at the airport as we can't pick the van up until 9.00am. The taxi took us to pick up the van, it being over an hours drive from the airport. We are shown around the van and given a quick introduction to how things work and then we are on our way. We had to drive back towards Sydney then out to Penrith and Emu Plains. We did get a bit lost but some whiz map reading got us back on track. We stopped in Penrith for lunch and to do some grocery shopping and then drove to the campsite. We sorted out our gear, had a bit of a rest and then walked to the train station to find the times to Sydney for tomorrow. We had tea and a restful evening trying hard to stay awake. We gave up at 9.00pm and went to bed. That was it until about 7.00 am next day.

Sunday 30th September. Today is Rosie's birthday and we are going into Sydney for dinner and a wander round. A great way to start our holiday!

The train we caught took us over the harbour bridge and we then walked back over to reach the Opera House. We climbed up one of the towers where there were some viewing points. The view from here was fabulous. We were able to take some great shots of the Opera House. 

Sydney Opera House!  Who could not just gaze at this magnificent icon of Australia? “It stands by itself as one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity, not only in the 20th century but in the history of humankind.” Expert evaluation report to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, 2007. 

Just loved the shape of the bird against the patterns of the Opera House roof.

We then wandered round towards the Opera House. There were a lot of people about. We had lunch at an Italian restaurant and later went in the botanical gardens. There was a civic wedding taking place with the Opera house as the backdrop. A bit different having Joe Public at your wedding as well. We stayed in the area until the sun set and then made our way back to base. 

We decided to stay at this site one more day as it is a bank holiday and the roads were likely to be busy and it might also be difficult to find another campsite. We decided to visit Glenbrook, which is the start of the Blue Mountain trail from the Sydney end. 

It was very steep and was a very difficult walk, so after a while we gave up and made our way back. Unfortunately we were unable to go to any of the look outs or the hand painted caves as they were all off road and we are not allowed to take the van off road. 

We had spoken to Graham and Jane and will be meeting them, and Terry and John, on Friday 19th. Graham and Jane are already on their way here having just crossed the Nullarbor Plain. 

We had a bit of trouble with the van fridge in as much as it doesn't seem to work off the auxiliary battery. 

Today we headed off on the start of our journey on the N.S.W. Coast. We took the motorway part of the way and then the coastal route to The Entrance. We were heading towards some fires and did actually see the fire helicopter banking round ready to refill its bucket. As we headed towards our campsite we were heading towards the fire. The sun disappeared and we travelled under a smoke haze but fortunately our site was well away from the fires. 

Wednesday 3rd October we went into Anna Bay (above) to go to the lookout points to look for whales and dolphins. We didn't see any but the scenery was fantastic. 

We then drove further along the bay and stopped for a late lunch and a quiet hour on the beach with our books. We drove back to site and later went for a swim as it was very hot. 

We are going to move onto Forster after tomorrow. 

Thursday 4th October. Whale watching today from Nelson Bay was booked. We left promptly as we wanted to take pictures at the quay side. The boat leaving at 10am tt was calm in the bay but quite rough out at sea. 

We saw a white bellied sea eagle but not the white fur seals which was a possibility. We saw ocean going dolphins which move very quickly so that they can catch the fish. Those in the bay are much slower moving; still very difficult to get pictures of though. It was very chilly on the boat and we were glad we had taken our fleeces. 

Our boat must be here somewhere! 

Nelson Bay 

We saw some Minke whales but were unfortunate in not seeing humpbacks. 

Unfortunately the Minke didn't breach for us - but we saw them 

The trip was good and we have now seen whales at close quarters. Later we had a fish and chip lunch then a wander round the town where we bought ourselves a present to match the plate and vase we already have at home. Then, back to base to do a weeks washing 

Home                                                                  Next